Balto: The Acceptance of the Lone Wolf
By: Jacrujin

One Friday morning on the outskirts of Nome, Alaska, Balto once again is having a strange dream. In this particular dream Balto is running in a clearing of snow with his family including Aniu. Then all of a sudden he looks to the sun rise and sees a dark canine figure standing in the sunlight. His family then looked to the sun rise to run in fear of the strange figure they see. The strange figure then approaches and Balto turns to run but he turns to see Aniu place her paw upon his head and the dream ends in a bright blinding flash of light. Balto then suddenly lifts his head fully awake and feels chills run down his back.

Borris is startled by this sudden burst of activity and is awakened by it. He then looked at Balto to asks, “What is it this time?”
“I had another strange dream,” he explained with quite a fright in his eyes. He then thinks again to see if there may be an explanation for the dream other than fear and dark intentions. He then realizes he planned on going to a snow clearing for a family gathering with his full grown litter that weekend.
Borris then asks in curiousity, “Well? what was this particular dream about?”
“Well it was strange because it took place during a future plan this weekend. But I can't figure out what it means. There was a strange figure and everyone ran and when I began to run but there was a flash of light and I woke up. What do you think?” Balto asked.
“That just sounds spooky. But then again it sounds like the firgure hasn't done anything except scare people. Nothing happened except people running and screaming but you haven't been given a reason to run away.” Borris explained.
Balto then began feeling afraid to go to the family gathering at the snow clearing. "I'm not sure if I want to go to the snow clearing."
“Well what are you going to do if everyone shows up and you’re not there?”
“Well it is tomorrow,” Balto realized. “Perhaps I can arrange a different location.”
Borris then disagrees and says, “No, I think you should realize by now these dreams always mean something. You may just be destined to run into this guy.”
"But I can't afford to risk my family getting involved or even harmed."
"Maybe this guy needs your help. Maybe he knows of something you have that he doesn't,” Borris tries to raise his confidence.

“Very well, but I still think we should relocate the gathering!” Balto yells as he heads into town to see Jenna to try and relocate the gathering. As he heads into town he is greeted by the common folk of Nome as he goes to Rosie’s home and looks through the window to see Jenna with Rosy. He then barks to get her attention. They both then look to the window and Rosy excitedly yells, "Balto!" She and Jenna then go outside to greet him.
"Hello Jenna, I have something to discuss," Balto says to her with some uncertainty.
"Why what is it? Is this about the meat you gave me yesterday? I thought it tasted funny. But I liked it...." as she was going to finish he interrupted to say, "No it's not that I'm having second thoughts about the family gathering location."
"Wait....why? I thought we had agreed to that location. We all enjoy going there. What changed your mind all of a sudden? I.....but you love that clearing," Jenna exclaims with confusion.
"Yeah, thats before I had another strange dream. And it was a while since...."
Jenna then interrupts Balto and asks with great worry, "What you had a dream? Those went away a long time ago."
"Yes I know but apparently they've come back but this one was different," he explained.
"How? What could make this dream so different?" Jenna asks with intense frustrated curiousity.
"Well it takes place at our family gathering tommorrow." He explained.
Jenna then asks with disappointment, "What? That sounds like the kids are involved. But I can't just all of a sudden change the location we decided to go. The kids also agreed to that place. We will need to find them and decide on a new location."
"Then we'll have to think of some suggestions for the kids and we'll need to gather them in one place to make the decision together agreed?" "Agreed. But I think you may be overreacting," Jenna says in agreement for Balto's sake.

They then decide to go to their childrens homes to gather them to one location for the meeting. And late that afternoon they finally had all of Balto's family for the meeting. Balto then at the front of the group tells them, "Ok...your mother and I have decided to relocate the family gathering tommorrow. We are aware of some acticity that may endanger ourselves if we were to go there. They all then ask why? What could have possibly changed the plan? And What brought the dangerous activity there all of a sudden.
Balto was obviously hoping they wouldn't ask but he is of an honorable and honest nature and so he announces, "Well...... we have decided to relocate our family gathering. and we have some suggestions for the event." They then decide to go to the old boiler room where Jenna found her place with Balto. It was in fact winter and around the time in which they first met that winter. And so they decide to use this location as an anniversary like event.

Mean while deep in the snowy waste lands outside of Nome lies a large wolf with a very muscular build. His snout was very thin much like Anui's. His coat was very much pitch black and a white underbelly and it was very scruffy and roughed up much like Balto's. He had a long tail that was quite roughed up as well. He had eyes so dark brown that they seem to allow you to sink into his soul to see a dark black hole of a void that remains unfulfilled. And what stood out the most was a purple scar that ran across his shoulder with balding around it as if he had pulled the fur around it out. And so as the black wolf lay on the cold snow covered ground a fox approaches him trying to get the black wolf to chase him by annoying him. "Hey Jikynchu, I have something for you!" the fox says digging his paw into the snow and lunging it at Jikynchu.
"Oh why do you always follow me? I can escape your torture then all of a sudden you find me again. Oh joy..." The black wolf says sarcastically.
"I'm just trying to have fun. Why don't you have fun? I bet it's because you never learned to did you? Ahahahahahaha!" The fox giggles knowing he is getting on his nerves. Then all of a sudden the black wolf swiftly gets up to jump on top of the fox annoying him from close quarters. The fox then hops to safety and is already running circles around him saying, "Ha you are so predictable Jikynchu! Ahahahahahaha!"
Jikynchu then decides to leave the area saying, "I cannot waste my time playing with you. I need my personal space. AND I DON'T LIKE YOU!!!!!" He yells with frustration as he is annoyed by his tormentor.

He then begins running away from the fox and heads into the distance. He then runs into some other wolves not of his pack as they are migrating to another location. As they are approaching his presense he overhears them saying something about a great hero in Nome and they then notice Jikynchu as they get closer to him. But as they pass each other they lock eyes and they then turn their heads as if disgusted and continue on their way. He then continues headed toward the town not knowing it is Nome he is headed towards. And as he gets closer to Nome he spots a residential dog that seemed odd to him.

It was Balto heading back home and as he is leaving the town of Nome all of a sudden a cold chill runs down his spine and when startled by this sensation he happens to spot the black wolf and notices his purple scar on his shoulder. Balto then recognizes this strange wolf as the figure in his dream. Then locking eyes with each other they are confused on what to do next. Balto is then striken with a sense of nervous while Jikynchu is waiting for balto to look away from the stare like all the other canines he ever encounters and lock eyes with. But for the first time he was the one to look away and passes by Balto and heads into town along the sides of the buildings.

Balto then is frightened from what he has just seen and heads back into town to check on his mate Jenna. He got there but Jenna was just fine with the mysterious stranger out of sight. And so he began going all around town to check on the rest of his family. And by the darkness of the moon lit night he finds everything to be in order and decides to head back to Rosie's house and sleep under the window to keep watch and make sure the mysterious stranger isn't up to anything. And as Balto sits while highly alert he then hears a doors close and realize it is about the time that the businessmen close shop. And then he hears something shuffling across the road and swiftly turns to spot some mice scurrying into a crack beneath a town house. And later that night he finally falls asleep.

And on the next morning he wakes up to find that he was wrapped in a cloth like material but was awakened by the hustle and bustle in the morning. And then Jenna walks outside with Rosy about to do some errands and she noticed Balto lying there with a confused look on his face and she then asks, "Balto? Why are you here? Have you been sleeping there all night? That's not like you," as she is wondering why he was lying on the street, under her window, and most curiously why he was wrapped in a blue towel. "Huh? Oh I was standing guard." he tells her with confusion in his voice. "What? why?" "I saw it," he exclaimed. "Saw what? What are you talking about?" Jenna asks him with confusion. "The dark figure from my dream. It....He's here.....in town. But I hope everyone is okay. He looks quite scary." And as Rosy has already headed into town with her parents on errands Balto decides to go to their children's homes to remind them of their plan for the afternoon in the boiler room. As they travel about the town Balto is full of paranoia and happens to feel another chill down his spine. Jenna notices him shivering and asks,

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